Preston Pehrson showed up on the field at Navy Fan Fest on Saturday morning. He was still wearing Under Armour gear, which he will exchange for Nike on Monday when he joins the Houston football program.

Pehrson stepped down as Navy's Director of Player Personnel on Friday after just six months in the position. He is joining the recruiting department of American Athletic Conference rival Houston, although the hiring has not been officially announced.

Pehrson took time on Saturday to express appreciation to head coach Ken Niumatalolo and athletic director Chet Gladchuk for the three years he spent at Navy. The Broadneck High graduate served as assistant recruiting coordinator before being promoted to lead the department after Sean Magee departed for Michigan.

"I can't thank Coach Niumat enough. To be able to come in here and work with my dad and so many other coaches I have gotten to know and respect was priceless. Everyone involved with Navy football is family," Pehrson said.

Pehrson made it clear he was not looking to leave Navy and was surprised when Houston head coach Major Applewhite made contact. It turned out to be an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

"They gave me a call out of the blue and said they wanted to interview me. I went down there, had a good time and liked everything I saw," Pehrson said.

Pehrson, who worked as a graduate assistant at Lamar and Georgia Tech before being hired full-time at Navy, admitted it was hard to leave his hometown and family. He is the son of Navy defensive coordinator Dale Pehrson and was raised in Annapolis.

"It was a very difficult decision, not just because of family. Also all the kids I've helped recruit and the players on the team I've gotten to know over the years. This is family that I'm leaving so it was tough," Pehrson said. "One thing that made it easier was my wife is from Houston. I felt this was a good move for my family, not just professionally. It had to be something I thought was special in order for me to leave here."

Having a Power Five program such as Michigan and a conference opponent come after its recruiting coordinator is somewhat surprising development for Navy. It is a clear sign of the respect other schools' staffs have for the job the Midshipmen are doing on the recruiting trail.

"I think recruiting has gone to a different level here at Navy and the whole staff deserves credit for that," Pehrson said. "There are so many people that have helped me get to another level in my career and helped me take this next step."

Niumatalolo revealed on Friday that he has promoted recently hired Omar Nelson to Director of Player Personnel and will begin the process of finding someone to assist him. Nelson joined the program in June as assistant recruiting coordinator after previously working as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Pfizer.

For the second year, Navy has secured an inordinate number of verbal commitments at this point in the recruiting cycle. Rivals.com lists the Midshipmen with 59 commitments and rates its Class of 2018 at No. 57 nationally. One of Navy's verbal commitments is from Timber Berzins, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker at St. Mary's High.

IT'S SHOW TIME: A very professional-looking camera crew was spotted at every Navy football practice last week and The Capital has learned that it represents Showtime.

This will be the third straight year that Showtime produces a series that goes behind the scenes of a college football program. Notre Dame and Florida State were the subjects in 2015 and 2016, with the weekly program giving viewers an inside look at a Division I program by following players and coaches as their season-long journeys unfold.

Apparently, Navy is in the running to be the featured program for the 2017 installment of "A Season With."

"From the classroom to the locker room to the kickoff each week. A Season With transports viewers behind the scenes, beyond the field and into the lives of these student-athletes as they compete throughout the season," a Showtime promotional message states.

NAPS RETENTION: A total of 38 football recruits enrolled at the Naval Academy Prep School for the 2016-2017 school year. Navy announced its incoming freshman class on June 29 and it included 26 players from the prep school.

Research shows that 12 football recruits that were slated to play at the prep school last season did not wind up at the Naval Academy. Will Jones, a defensive lineman out of Prestonwood Christian Academy, was supposed to attend NAPS, but instead signed with Baylor last June.

Dy-Shawn Simpkins committed to Navy and was slated to attend the prep school, but wound up at Jireh Prep in North Carolina instead. Simpkins, a defensive back from Paramus Catholic in South Orange, N.J., enrolled at Norfolk State last January. He was found dead of gunshot wounds in a vehicle this past June.

As is always the case, some of the football recruits placed at the prep school wound up signing with other programs after completing the academic year. That list includes defensive lineman Markell Clark (Spain Park High, Hoover, Ala.) to Appalachian State, defensive back Dawun Hylton (American High, Opa-Locka, Fla.) to Buffalo, running back Greg McCrae (Miramar High, Fla) to Central Florida, defensive back Jalen Russell (Vista Murrieta High, Temecula, Calif.) to Southern Utah and quarterback Ramar Williams (Bishop McNamara, Bowie) to Howard.

HANGING IT UP: Wide receiver Trayvon Clarke has left the Navy football team, Niumatalolo said. Clarke, out of Ida Baker High in Fort Myers, Fla., will be a junior at the academy this school year. Clarke, who had not seen any varsity action, is going to focus on academics and may help out the football program in another capacity, Niumatalolo said.